We begin with the most obvious question when Tara Alisha Berry sits down to talk about her debut Tamil film, the Santhanam-starrer Accused No 1 — Can she speak Tamil? “No, but though I don’t speak the language, Tamil is not entirely new to me. My uncle is a Tamilian and I have spent a lot of time with his family during my school days. So the language is not particularly alien to me,” says Tara, who bagged her role in A1 thanks to her web series, Love, Lust and Confusion.
“It has been a lovely experience to make my debut with a team like this. Santhanam sir is extremely hilarious, and thanks to him, I was laughing the entire time I was on the sets,” she says, adding, “Also, along with the team, Santhanam sir helped me a lot with the language. It helped that I got all my lines beforehand with the English translations as well. I am waiting to see the film to find out how good my lip-sync is (laughs).”
In A1, Tara plays Divya, a Tamil Brahmin girl, and the trailer showing her being forced to consume an egg omelette ruffled a fair few feathers. “When people watch the film, they will understand the context of that scene. It will not hurt anyone’s sentiments. It’s not about the egg or Divya being a Brahmin — it’s about how far a girl will go for her love. It’s just about love and the film itself is about that,” says the actor.
Tara made her film debut with 100% Love alongside Naga Chaitanya. About her career so far, she adds, “I have been part of a few Hindi films, and recently, did a Telugu web series called Baby On Board, directed by Chuniya (of Padesave fame).”
And how does the Tamil industry compare to Bollywood? “The schedules here are stricter. In Bollywood, our shift timings are longer and we don’t get time to rest. When doing a Tamil film, I know I will have time for other aspects of my life. It makes a big difference when we get seven hours of sleep (laughs). Creatively though, the passion stays the same. I want to do more projects in the South, and if I get more films in Tamil, I am sure I will learn the language,” she signs off.